Not Good Enough

One of the temptations that individuals often face after several months on the Take Shape for Life/Medifast program is the temptation to settle.  For those of you who've been on plan for some time, you've lost weight, dropped inches and sizes and you feel better than you have in a long time. 

This is both a very exciting time and a very dangerous time, because you may also be feeling rather bored with being on 5&1.  While the food tastes good, it certainly isn't gourmet, and it's not my home cooking, either!  Several months into this program, you may have hit a point where it's just not fun any more.  When the inevitable program fatigue coincides with someone feeling and looking better, it can be really tempting to think, "good enough."

I had those same thoughts three years ago, right as I was finally in a size 12.  Here's what I blogged then:

When I started Take Shape for Life/Medifast last June 24, I weighed 260 pounds and wore size 24W/3X pants and size 22W/2X tops.  I set my goal weight at 130 because that's what I weighed until I was in my early 30's.  When I set my goal weight, I told myself that I wasn't sure that I'd actually sure I'd need to get that low (I'm 5' 5").  I figured that if I could get back into size 12 pants and size 10 tops (the sizes I wore the last time I weighed 130), that would be a great place to stop.

Last June, I wasn't really sure I'd ever see those sizes again.  They seemed so small to me and were so far from my present reality that I knew I'd be thrilled to reach those sizes, and that those sizes would be plenty small enough.  After all, I'm 55 and have four grandchildren!

Guess what?  I am now WEARING size 12 pants and size 10 tops and you know what?  As great as this is (and trust me, it IS great), it's NOT good enough.

I have settled for less than what I've really wanted many times over the past twenty years as I've battled obesity.  I'm not settling now!  These are pretty "normal" sizes, but my BMI tells me that I'm still overweight, and so does the mirror when I step out of the shower. 

I have my eyes on a goal about 40 pounds away, and after losing almost 90 pounds so far, 40 pounds definitely feels like the home stretch.  Yes, I get a bit tired of all of this sometimes and I very much look forward to putting this dieting season behind me.  However, I don't want to settle for "good enough" now and look back later with regret that I didn't keep on keeping on.

I really want the deep satisfaction of seeing this all the way through to completion.  It's not about reaching for a particular size, because I have NO idea what size I'll wear 40 pounds from now.  It's about setting a goal (which my doctor thinks is a good goal weight for my height and build) and not settling for less than that.  It's about reaching a truly healthy weight for ME and not being dissuaded by a size label.  It's about not listening to the growing number of people in my life who care about me who are telling me that I look great and need to think about stopping my weight loss (I'm 173 pounds, for goodness sake - hardly approaching anorexic numbers!).  [NOTE:  my husband is not one of those voices, as he continues to be my #1 encourager and supporter.]

So tonight I've reached a point I could only dream of 7 months ago, and I've realized that the dream is not yet fully realized.  I'm going for it - no settling!

I'm so glad I didn't settle . . . I really think if I'd stopped then, I probably would have started regaining weight in short order and would possibly be up near my starting weight again (that is a terrifying thought to me!).  I'm so glad I made the choice to not chase a size but stayed focused on getting to a healthy weight.

Don't settle for less than being as healthy as you can possibly be!  The choice, of course, is yours . . . choose wisely :-)